Tuesday, January 28, 2014 | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The New York Academy of Sciences

Join us for the first in the NYWiSTEM Series “Perspectives in STEM” as Dr. Laurie Leshin of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) discusses her illustrious career in science and technology.

Grow a New STEM: One Woman’s Walk of Discovery on Earth and Mars

Our nation’s future prosperity is fundamentally linked to our ability to invent and innovate our way to a better world. Innovation drives the world of STEM, and therefore, a healthy STEM ecosystem is critical to our future prosperity. In this presentation, Dr. Leshin will discuss the importance of asking inspiring questions that are almost impossible to answer as a means to drive innovation, and the absolute need to engage intellects from all backgrounds to seek answers and solutions. She will reflect on her own experience as an academic leader, a NASA executive, and an astrobiologist to frame a discussion of the importance of a thriving community of innovators. And she might just share the latest results from NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover!

Dr. Leshin’s seminar will be followed by a question and answer session.

Speaker

Laurie Leshin, PhD

Dean of Science, RPI

Dr. Laurie Leshin is Dean of the School of Science at RPI where she leads the scientific academic and research enterprise in the School. Prior to joining Rensselaer, she held several senior executive roles including the Deputy Head of the future Human Spaceflight Program at NASA Headquarters, and Deputy Director for Science and Technology of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Before joining NASA, Dr. Leshin was a Chaired Professor of Geological Sciences, and Director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.

Dr. Leshin received her PhD in Geochemistry from Caltech. Her scientific expertise is in cosmochemistry and planetary science. Dr. Leshin is a member of the science team for the Mars Curiosity rover mission, currently roaming the surface of Mars.

Dr. Leshin has received many honors for her contributions to space science and exploration. In 2004, she served on President Bush’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, a nine-member commission charged with advising the President on the execution of his new Vision Space Exploration. She received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2004 for this work, and the Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2011 for her work at NASA. This year, President Obama appointed her to the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. And, the International Astronomical Union recognized her contributions to planetary science with the naming of asteroid 4922 Leshin.

NYWiSTEM is a recently formed group of women graduate student and postdoctoral researchers in the STEM fields. We represent institutions from across the greater metropolitan New York City area. The purpose of our group is to provide resources and programming that are not available at individual research institutions or institutional women in science groups. In order to best serve the needs of women in STEM in NYC, our inaugural event consists of three parts: a panel, discussion, and networking.

We will present a panel of successful women in science who will share their perspectives on the landscape of the women in STEM. They will also share their experiences, setting the stage for the discussion. The panelists include:

Next, roundtable discussions moderated by NYWiSTEM council give everyone the opportunity to share their own experiences and voice their suggestions for NYWiSTEM programming. These roundtable discussions also give you an opportunity to begin conversing with different people. Your ideas will be presented to the entire audience at the conclusion of the discussion.

Finally, we will host a networking reception to give everyone the chance to meet people outside of their tables. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be available to snack on while everyone mingles.

There is a registration fee for this event to help us cover the cost of the reception. The fee is the same for both non-members and NYAS members. More event information and registration can be found here.

The next step for NYWiS will be selecting institutional representatives who will help us maintain connections between their home institution and NYWiS and serve on NYWiS committees that will organize events or initiatives. We would like to have 1-2 representatives from each institution who are preferably already involved in their institution’s Women in Science group. However, we understand that there are institutions without formal groups. As a result, we have included the contact information for the individuals from your institution who expressed interest in NYWiS and we hope that this will serve as a launching point for either a formal or informal WiS group.

We ask that institutional representatives be selected by August 23rd and email NYWiS with the following information:
1) Name, email, position, and institution
2) Ranked committee interests from the following:
– professional development (skill-based workshops)
– career exploration (panels to learn about different fields)
– networking (inter-institutional and/or NYC area)
– mentoring (special topics, work/life balance)
– advocacy (gender bias, diversity, institutional policy)
– outreach (encourage younger women to pursue science, may collaborate with other programs)
3) Preference for leadership roles, if any. We have two potential leadership roles that include:
– Committee chair (oversees committee organization and is part of the NYWiS board)
– NYAS representative (Liaison between the committee and the NYAS for organizational/administrative support. Also is part of the NYWiS board. The same person can serve as both committee chair and NYAS representative, if desired.)

We would greatly appreciate your continued support in expanding the NYWiS network by assisting us in reaching out to institutions that we have been unable to contact. If you personally know of any women who would be interested in this group from the following institutions, please contact them and put them in touch with us.

Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm in the development of NYWiS. With your support, we hope to greatly impact the landscape for early career women pursuing STEM fields. If you have any questions about being an institutional representative, serving on a committee, or reaching out to other institutions, please don’t hesitate to email us at ContactNYWiS@gmail.com.